


When Night Falls

by goingtothetardis



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Prompt Fic, Protective Doctor (Doctor Who), Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23593564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingtothetardis/pseuds/goingtothetardis
Summary: The Doctor is unable to resist the fall toward Rose after coming to terms with her desire to save his life.
Relationships: Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 28
Kudos: 112





	When Night Falls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SelenaTerna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SelenaTerna/gifts).



> Hello friends! This was supposed to be a MINI prompt (ahem), but as per usual...it is not so mini. But I doubt any of you will be whining/whinging about that, because WORDS. Thank you to SelenaTerna for sending me the prompt. I had intended for it to go more smutty than it turned out, but alas...that mood flew past as quickly as it arrived. Le sigh. Just think about them getting up to naughty things from the comfort of their TARDIS and not against a brick wall. 
> 
> Also, I'd like to thank LostInFic for the beta! I appreciate the late night read-through...and the sacrifice of the cookies. LOL.

The night falls quickly, and a blanket of inky blackness permeates every empty alley and dark corner in the ruinous city. The Doctor holds Rose’s hand in a vice grip as they stride down long sidewalks on the way back to the TARDIS. The space between them is fraught with tension, the heavy kind that festers with long-forbidden emotions brought to the surface in those fragmented moments of fear and panic. 

Earlier that day, Rose, his brave companion, had thrown herself in front of him to save his life in a moment when everything had gone awry. They’d been working with an insider to save a group of rebels from a ruthless dictator. In the end, it hadn’t mattered; they’d both made it out relatively unscathed, and the rebels had toppled the dictatorship. But now, hours later, the Doctor seethes with anger. Anger at Rose. At himself for getting them into another disaster of an adventure and throwing Rose into danger once more. At another  _ bloody  _ dictator trying to conquer the universe. 

His mouth tightens into a grimace as his mind flashes images of Rose diving in front of him during the explosion – her arms thrown around his torso and her body covering his, while the force of the blast throws them off their feet. Miraculously, she’d survived, but her arms bear shallow scratches from bits of gravel, and a dark bruise spreads across her right cheek from the impact of the landing. 

The memories swirl around his mind in a dangerous tumult, simultaneously dislodging other, somehow more dangerous thoughts about his companion.  _ Want. Her whiskey-colored eyes gazing into his. Need. A flash of the smooth skin of her back. Desire. Fantasies of his hands caressing soft curves. Fear. The image of her on a street, lifeless and bloody. Nausea.  _

Following some unnamed instinct, the Doctor slows his steps and pulls Rose down a quiet passage, suddenly desperate to confront the tension between them. He turns to her, almost, but not quite, trapping her against the rough brick wall.

“What?” Rose angles her face up, spitting out the word as her jaw juts forward in stubborn defiance. It’s as though she’s been waiting for this moment, holding her own emotions at bay until his own came to light. 

“You almost died today,” the Doctor growls, piercing her with a fierce gaze. Rose’s face is lined with shadows but he doesn’t miss the way her eyes flash briefly with anger. The bruise on her cheek reminds him again of her earlier actions, and it spurs him on. “You almost  _ died _ trying to save  _ me.” _

Her hands brace against the wall behind her. “You almost died, too, Doctor.  _ You _ can’t die.  _ I’m _ more expendable.”

The Doctor stiffens at her words and his eyes narrow. “I promised,” he hisses, “to always bring you home.” He steps into her space, trapping her thoroughly against the wall, with his hands braced on each side of her body. Rose’s breath hitches in response to his movements, and a flood of pheromones fill the air around him. 

His nostrils flare, taking in the scent of her fear and – impossibly – arousal, but he pushes on, undeterred, even as not-yet-used parts of him respond in turn. “You, Rose Tyler,” he says, his tongue rolling over her name like a melody, “are anything but expendable. You can’t throw yourself in front of me every time I’m in danger.”

Rose’s gaze meets his in the darkness, and for several long moments they stare at each other. “The universe can’t lose you, Doctor,” she whispers, holding his gaze a few seconds longer before dropping it to the ground.  _ “I _ can’t lose you.”

With a low growl, the Doctor presses closer and brings one hand to Rose’s chin, raising her face to meet his. “What makes you think  _ I _ could bear the thought of losing you?” His thumb gently grazes over the bruise on her cheek in a silent reminder. 

Rose’s mouth falls open with a sharp gasp, and the Doctor moves, unable to resist his baser instincts. His lips brush lightly over hers, and he pauses briefly, hovering just over her lips and holds his breath to see if he’ll be shoved away with disgust. When Rose presses back, lips soft and insistent against his, the Doctor gives in to the kiss. With a moan very undignified for a Lord of Time, he cards his fingers through her hair around the back of her neck and intensifies the embrace. 

Warm hands creep under his jumper and around his back, pulling him closer. Startled by Rose’s unexpected touch, the Doctor thrusts forward into her, sparing nary a thought about his very obvious arousal pressing into her hip. He loses himself in the taste and feel of Rose, her full lips moving against his, her fingernails digging with obvious pleasure into his back. 

Finally, with a shuddered breath, Rose pulls away to drink in several gulps of air. Her head falls back against the bricks, and the Doctor rests his forehead against hers. With a gentle nudge, she pushes him away a few inches and meets his wary gaze. “Hello,” she says, biting her bottom lip with a demure grin. 

Dumbfounded that she’s not simply running away screaming at him, the Doctor can only offer one word in return. “Hello.”

Rose braces herself with the lapels of his leather jacket. “So...all  _ that _ sorted then?” 

Of course she has to bring up their earlier argument. 

“Rose,” the Doctor starts, reaching to brush away a few strands of hair from her face, “I meant what I said. You are  _ not  _ expendable. There’s only one Rose Tyler, and I don’t want you goin’ anywhere. Plus, I’m a bit harder to kill off than you might think.” 

With a confused frown, Rose drops her hands and crosses them across her chest. “What do you mean, you’re ‘a bit harder to kill off,’ Doctor? Makes it sound like you’re indestructible, an’ I know you’re not. I’ve seen you bleed, like when that one ape-like thing on Vrendra bit your arm.” She clenches her jaw and looks away toward the entrance to the passage.

Hearts hammering in his chest, the Doctor knows it’s time to tell Rose the truth about regeneration before he really  _ does _ die and a new man takes his place. “Rose, there’s something I need to tell you about me,” he says, twining his fingers with hers. He sighs in relief when she doesn’t pull away. Without a word, they walk out of the passageway and continue on their earlier path toward the TARDIS. “About Time Lords in general, mind. I may look like you apes, but I’m still a bit different.” 

Rose turns her head, and in the flickering street lamps, he doesn’t miss the way her gaze glances toward his groin before looking forward again.

“Not like that.  _ Blimey. _ All you humans do is think about sex,” he mutters.

With a snort, Rose squeezes his hand. “You’re one to talk. I know you were thinking about it a few minutes ago,” she says, looking up at him with a smirk. “Or was that just your sonic screwdriver digging into my hip?”

Scoffing, the Doctor is quite glad the cheeky woman beside him can’t see the tips of his ears turn red. “There’s something I need to tell you, but it can wait until we’re on the TARDIS. Don’t need anyone over hearing and takin’ advantage.”

Rose walks silently beside him for several steps before giving him a side-long look. “Did you mean it? What happened back there?” When he doesn’t immediately answer, she continues. “Was it a one time thing?”

There’s something in Rose’s voice that draws his attention back to her, and he can’t help the way his lips lift into a grin when he finds her staring resolutely ahead, chewing on her bottom lip. “Rose,” he says, tugging her to a stop. “I’d like to continue what we started back there, if...if you’ll have me.” 

A wide smile stretches across her face. “Yeah?”

The Doctor pulls Rose into his arms, willing his hearts to still their dance in his chest. He finds an uneasy peace in his answer, still not quite sure if allowing himself this bit of happiness is the right decision. “Jus’, Rose?”

“Mmm?”

“Don’t...I can’t lose you. I couldn't bear it.”


End file.
